Studying a lot or attending more activities than usual, which may be decreasing your sleep time

Drinking even small amounts of alcohol

Driving alone or on a long, rural dark or boring road

What you can do to prevent falling asleep while driving (6):

Get a good night’s sleep before you hit the road.

Don’t be too rushed to arrive at your destination. Many drivers try to maximize the holiday weekend by driving at night or without stopping for breaks

It’s better to allow the time to drive alert and arrive alive

Use the buddy system. A buddy who remains awake for the journey can take a turn behind the wheel and help identify the warning signs of fatigue

Take a break every 100 miles or 2 hours. Do something to refresh yourself like getting a snack, switching drivers or going for a jog

Take a nap. Find a safe place to take a 15-20 minute nap if you think you might fall asleep. Be cautious about excessive drowsiness after waking up.

Avoid alcohol and medications that may cause drowsiness as a side-effect

Consume caffeine. The equivalent of two cups of coffee can increase alertness for several hours.

The problem of visibility at night:

The average person’s field of vision is smaller without the aid of light, and glare from oncoming headlights can further limit the ability to see clearly and avoid hazards (7).

High Intensity lights are becoming more common. These lights are brighter to on-coming traffic and require your eyes to adjust faster (7).

It is more difficult to judge other vehicle’s speeds and distances at night.

Dusk is the most dangerous time since your eyes are constantly having to adjust to more darkness (8).

Rural roadways can be especially dangerous at night due to higher numbers of unlit roadways. In 2015, the number of people who died in a fatal crash was 2.6 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas (9).

On average, 62% of fatal teen crashes occurred on rural roadways and an average of 53% of the fatal crashes occurred between 6 pm – 6 am (10).

What to do about poor visibility:

As always, wear your seat belt. The danger of driving at night should not be multiplied by being unsecured.

Keep distractions to a minimum to keep your eyes and attention on the road.

Turn headlights on at dusk and observe night driving safety as soon as the sun goes down (11).

Reduce your speed and increase your following distances. Don’t overdrive your headlights. You should be able to stop inside the illuminated area. If you can’t, you are creating a blind crash area in front of your vehicle (11).

Keep your headlights and windshield clean. A thin film of debris on your headlights can reduce your visibility significantly (11).

If an oncoming vehicle’s lights are too high, avoid glare by watching the right edge of the road and using it as a steering guide (11).

Have your headlights properly aimed. Misaimed headlights blind other drivers and reduce your ability to see the road (11).

Sources:

D. Hershner, and Chervin R.D. Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students. Nature and Science of Sleep. 2014.